Q2 Metals Corp. ("Q2" or the "Company") is pleased to announce core assay results for the drill program completed in the winter of 2024 (the "Winter Drill Program") at the Company's wholly owned, 8,668 hectare ("ha") Mia Lithium Property (the "Property") located in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay Territory of Quebec.
Figure 1. Mia Zone, winter 2024 drilling results. Image Credit: Q2 Metals Corp
The 2024 Winter Drill Program targeted the western end of the more than 10-kilometre-long Mia Lithium Exploration Trend (the "Mia Trend"), located 22 kilometres ("km") from the Billy Diamond Highway, proximal to major hydro-powerline and all-season road infrastructure. The Mia Trend comprises an approximately 10-km-long series of sub-parallel pegmatite intrusions, of which there are 11 mineralized with spodumene at surface. The individual pegmatite bodies vary in thickness between a few metres ("m") and over 20 m in some cases. Combined with the 2023 fall drill program, a total of 8,685 m was completed over 50 drill holes along the Mia Trend. All assay results from both drill campaigns have now been reported.
Neil McCallum, VP Exploration, commented: "Our modest Winter Drill Program continued to successfully confirm the continuity of the mineralization encountered during our fall drill program at the Mia 1, 2 & 3 Zones. These results have provided us with information about what is happening across the broader Mia Trend and will be used to vector towards areas where we will test for thickening and higher-grade mineralization."
The primary objective of the Winter Drill Program was to follow up on the fall-2023 drilling along the Mia Trend, with a total of 20 drill holes completed for approximately 3,085 m. One drill rig was used to test the main Mia 1, 2 & 3 zones (the "Mia Zone") with 11 drill holes; while a second drill rig tested the greater Mia Trend with nine holes at the Mia 5,6, 7, 8 & Carte Zones.
Drill results at the Mia Zone confirmed the previously announced spodumene mineralization within a continuous pegmatite zone that dips gently to the north (see news release from April 25, 2024; Hole MIA23-004: 17.8 m at 1.51% Li2O, including 12.2 m of 2.16% Li2O).
Thickness of the mineralized zone varies from 8 to 20 m and extends roughly 600 m east-west and roughly 375 m north-south. The pegmatite body appears to be open to the west, east and north. The Winter Drill Program confirmed the continuity of the mineralization in some areas of the zone, while also showing some grade variability at the northern portions of the pegmatite at depth, with pegmatite intervals as expected but without significant lithium grades in holes 42, 44, 46, 48.
Figure 2. Mia Zone 1, simplified cross-section with winter 2024 results. Image Credit: Q2 Metals Corp
The results of the greater Mia Trend have revealed significantly wide pegmatite intervals, with relevantly anomalous LCT-style geochemistry, but without significant lithium intervals. For instance, drill hole MIA24-035 at the Mia 8 Zone intersected 14.9 m of pegmatite, followed by 2.6 m of metasediments, followed by another 20.6 m of pegmatite. The geochemistry revealed elevated rubidium of 989 ppm and only 96 ppm lithium. Additionally, drill hole MIA24-049 at Mia 5 Zone intersected three near-surface pegmatites (1.4 m wide, 2.9 m wide and 0.8 m wide) with anomalous lithium (723, 76 and 57 ppm Li, respectively), anomalous rubidium (1,795, 996 and 1276 ppm Rb, respectively) and anomalous tantalum (107, 59 and 116 ppm Ta2O5, respectively); with potassium-rubidium ratios (K/Rb) of 9, 22 and 7, respectively. The positive indicator-geochemistry in drill-holes, combined with anomalous surface geochemistry, indicates the potential for the discovery of additional mineralized zones along the Mia Trend. Drill holes 32, 34, 35, 37, 38 and 41 to 50 all returned elevated but not significant amounts of lithium.
Figure 3. Mia Zones 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 & Carte. Drill hole locations. Image Credit: Q2 Metals Corp
Table 1. Summary of winter 2024 drilling results
2024 Exploration Plans
Due to an abnormal fire season in 2023, much of the Property remains completely untested as the field season was drastically shortened. Further exploration will be undertaken at the Mia Lithium Property during the summer of 2024 with a 2-week long property-wide ground mapping and sampling campaign. The focus of the campaign will be on the continuation of the Mia Trend as well as the prospective Bruce and Lady trends that were identified at the end of the 2023 field season. Several high-priority targets were identified with the high-resolution aerial imagery and LiDAR that was collected at the end of the 2023 season.
Analytical Methods and QA/QC Protocols
All drill core samples were shipped to SGS Canada's preparation facility in Val d'Or, Quebec, for standard sample preparation (code PRP89) which includes drying at 105 °C, crush to 75% passing 2 mm, riffle split 250 g, and pulverize 85% passing 75 microns. The pulps were shipped by air to SGS Canada's laboratory in Burnaby, BC, where the samples were homogenized and subsequently analyzed for multi-element (including Li and Ta) using sodium peroxide fusion with ICP-AES/MS finish (code GE_ICM91A50).
A Quality Assurance / Quality Control protocol following industry best practices was incorporated into the sampling program.
Qualified Person
Neil McCallum, B.Sc., P.Geol, is a registered permit holder with the Ordre des Géologues du Québec and Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, and has reviewed the technical information in this news release. Mr. McCallum is a director and VP Exploration of Q2.